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War Witch     After combining her findings with Horus's research, War Witch has conferred with her super group and the Union, as well as other heroes she has made contact with, about the results. The golden-armored super hero Horus reports to those assembled, "There's a medical foundation called Hope Eternal that's been giving a lot of money to Henderson and others for cancer research. It's funded by a businessman named Walter Stone. He gave millions to the foundation."

    War Witch interjects with, "And after getting some mysterious treatment, a few months ago he recovered fully from his lung cancer. Stone's name is in several of the files I st... Found."

    Horus tacks on, "Plus, he won a local tennis tournament, besting players half his age."

    Apex, in his red and blue outfit, remarks, "Thanks, no doubt, to his new, stolen cyber-organic zombie organs."

    War Witch looks around at everyone and says, "Let's go see this guy. Right now."

    Horus nods firmly and says, "Yeah, and maybe take back some of those organs he stole."

    Some time later, at Walter Stone's tower, everyone is... Waiting.

    Apex says, "You know, when you said 'let's go see him', I didn't think that meant sitting in his waiting room while his secretary looks for an excuse to brush us off."

    War Witch is leaning on her elbow as she sits on a couch, Apex next to her, and Horus on the other side of him. "Well hey, we're not sure he's culpable. We can't just bust in. Donating to leukemia research doesn't make you the zombie master, and we can't just rush in there until we know more."

    Apex, leaning back with his hands behind his head and sarcastically says, "I'm sure he's evil. Look how long he's kept us waiting."

    Horus checks a display in the forearm of his armor. "It's been over an hour now..."
Athela Valemore "I see some things haven't changed in a few centuries," Athela remarks from where she's leaning back the end of the lobby couch. "Nobles usually do this hoping one will grow frustrated and leave instead of voicing their complaints." As usual her Eevee is sitting on her shoulder, while her Samurott is tucked away in his pokegem due to size.

Fortunately she left Timburr at home to help her uncle repair an old shed, so no worrying about him getting bored and trying to do something like punch the walls to test them.

Athela leans back a little farther to peer over as Horus checks his timepiece, still marvelling a bit at how easily such things are made small enough to easily carry around in these future eras.
Reinhardt Wilhelm     "Hmmmph." Reinhardt looks sour even with a mask on, standing in the lobby. There's no way his considerable size wouldn't be an issue with the furniture. He looks awfully cramped as it is, as he tries to keep a look out at the stairwell. "He's certainly an old hand at wasting guests' time, regardless." He grouses quietly.
Revan Lowri Revan-Shan listened to the report quietly, her arms folded and her gaze slightly unfocused as she contemplated the news. Perhaps it was all a coincidence, but the recent crimes related to what could have only been reanimated corpses -- or rather, droid-like creations fashioned from corpse parts -- had the Jedi Knight frequently thinking back to friends who had been missing for some time. By all accounts, hope of finding them was futile...or at least, finding them alive and unharmed. Still, she could not in good conscience simply give up.

     And it wasn't as if her involvement was a waste of time, considering their impromptu group had managed to rescue at least some potential victims or prevent further tragedies.

     The hidden, softer side of the Guardian hoped that Hope Eternal's benefactor was innocent, considering the good that the foundation has undeniably done. It was just worrisome what that cost might have been...and not in monetary costs. She refrained from voicing her concerns, however; their current task was to simply collect information. That was something she had been good at, traditionally.

     "Well, I'm sure he has a busy schedule," Revan soothed the disgruntled heroes. "You never know...it might be that he's managed to squeeze us into an otherwise full agenda. At least that's something to consider."
X Waiting doesn't particularly bother X... he's still as a statue in one of the seats for some of the time, deep in thought. Thought about this Walter Stone and the situation he might be in.

    There was a hospital around recently where such miraculous medicine was being worked on, wasn't there?

    ... But it... kind of got... exploded.

    X opens his eyes while the others speak. The robot looks nervous... and rather like there's a thousand things on his mind all at once.

    But with him, what's new really?

    "Or he's using the time to sneak out of the building and make a getaway." X posits extremely quietly to Revan nearby. "You have some kind of strange sense for things, right? Maybe you can tell if he's here?"
Maya Maya is back once more she's been most commonly seen in Paragon outside the junk wastes and her home world. Either way Maya seems to be in prime form today as she arrives.

"I had that happen back home. Then they sicked guards on me when I wouldn't leave."

She tries to look innocent. "Said person is no longer in power."

She also looks over to Revan and Reinhardt. "Hey good to see you."
Dorian Pavus     Dorian listened to the report with a quiet, thoughtful frown. "Well... if THAT'S how they're looking to cure cancer, I'm afraid I can't get behind that," he decided. Referring, of course, to turning people into zombies to 'save' them. "It's too much like my home, trying to 'solve' things with blood magic. My own country needs to learn that problems don't just go away when you use enough blood magic. It looks like these people need to learn that problems don't just go away when you turn your patient into an undead monstrosity. And possibly the lesson 'don't meddle with powers you don't understand'."

    And now in the waiting room, Dorian is surprisingly patient. Keeping one's enemies waiting is a common tactic, even in Tevinter. It happens for a variety of reasons. Whether it's to give someone time to destroy evidence, or if the only purpose it serves is to annoy one's enemy, it's judiciously applied versus people a person in power doesn't like. However, Dorian's come prepared for just that, and has decided both that he's not going to get upset over it, and that he should arrive looking as nonthreatening as possible.

    'Nonthreatening', in this case, includes being dressed in a nice white suit, forest green shirt, teal tie, and black dress shoes. Of course, all this fits remarkably well, because he's figured there's a possibility of some fighting eventually. Which is why he does have his staff with him, sitting next to him as he sits in a chair. The staff with the suit looks a little incongruous, but at least he doesn't look COMPLETELY heroic.

    As for not getting upset? Dorian's sitting in one of the chairs in a way that indicates no tension or irritation, despite being more than a little irritated with the being kept waiting. Athela's words get a nod. "This way time is the enemy," he agrees. Reinhardt's words get a smirk. "It's a skill one picks up," he notes, a bit wryly. Revan's statement, however, gets a laugh. "I like that. A spark of optimism inamongst the doom and gloom. Let's hope it's rewarded, and not crushed ruthlessly underfoot. The latter happens more often than not."

    And then X's suggestion. "That's also possible," he agrees. "If that's the case, he's probably long gone by now." It's not a prediction of doom; it's offered completely calmly. Maya's words get a smirk. "That happens sometimes too."
War Witch     Horus glances up as Athela leans over to look at the glowing display that floats up off his armor's projector, and moves his head so she can see. "Are you interested in gadgets like this? I could make one for you if you like!" he offers.

    War Witch grunts in agreement in response to Reinhardt. She grunts with even more agreement to Dorian, and adds some verbalization. "The problem with the 'cure' is that it costs others their lives. And the test bed seems to be those Things."

    Apex doesn't like the sound of the potential culprit taking off while they're stuck waiting here, and leans forward in his seat. X and Dorian have very valid points in that regard, and he's about to impatiently get up and do what he can to verify whether that idea is accurate or not, but only a few moments later, the secretary walks up to the lobby full of heroes.

    "Thank you for waiting. Mr. Stone will see you now." she says.

    Horus, surprised works to get up and says, "Oh... Thanks... No problem."

    Once everyone is on their feet and works their way through the large wooden double-doors which are big enough to accomodate even Reinhardt, they enter into a spacious office with shelves lined iwth books and baubles, a marble floor with some kind of vertical-stripe rug, a low brass table so well-waxed it shines, and a large wooden desk behind which an older man sits.

    Paneled window-doors line the back of the room, ornate fan-shaped structures of glass and steel above each of the three portals. And on the desk are a pair of candelabras, lit and giving off the slight scent of smoke.

    A pair of flat-screen displays, one each in two sunken walls on either side of the office, are illuminaed with low-intensity in-set bulbs above and below.

    Walter Stone says as everyone enters. "I'm terribly sorry to make you wait, but it's been a busy night for us here. Now, what can I do for you colorfully dressed individuals?"

    War Witch says, "Thank you for seeing us, Mr. Stone. We're actually here to warn you. It turns out that one of your foundation's biggest members is, well how should I say this? Organ farming, and building cyber-organic zombots."

    Apparently she's going with the direct approach.
Athela Valemore "I was just admiring how much things change from the time I am use to," Athela replies to Horus. "I doubt I could do much with such a marvel." Considering it took her nearly a week to get a radio unit to work properly... yeah. Probably best to let her look and not touch.

Fortunately before this could become a problem the secretary returns to announce they're being let in. Gawking at modern marvels is going to have to wait. Athela fumbles a little as she pushes herself up from leaning against the couch, but quickly catchs herself and reasserts her usual composure. Not that Eevee budged once from her shoulder in the entire awkward moment. The little fox must have some really good balance.

"Thank you, miss." One always needs to be polite to civil servants. You never know when they may be a highly trained bodyguard in disguise. "We shall try to not take up too much of his time."

If the lobby was elaborate (if boring) the office is definately quite awe inspiring. Definately the equivilent to some kind of noble or magistrate, this Stone.

Athela really wishes she could say that comparison was reassuring, but it's really not. Not with the kinds she's use to dealing with.
Reinhardt Wilhelm     "I am thankful I have Brigitte to help me with keeping track with such devices, sometimes." Reinhardt asides to Athela, his gaze pausing on Dorian's /considerable/ suit. "I'll need to get your tailor after this." He says, lumbering over towards the office, crouching to avoid bonking his head on the ceiling or doorframe as he enters. This armor is his uniform for heroism, as far as Reinhardt is concerned, but damn if it wouldn't be nice to have something more classy for these sorts of affairs. "Hopefully they don't mind excessive height."

    Otherwise, he remains silent. This science stuff really is more fitted to people like Dr. Zeigler, in the German knight's experience.
Revan At Maya's greeting, Lowri nodded with a smile, one of honest warmth. "Good to see you, too."

     Not moments later, she shook her head at X, her expression sobering. "I can, but it's not necessary. He's too high profile; even if he made a successful getaway, he can be tracked too easily. Even if he's hiding something, running would only cast further suspicion on him. No, what someone in his position would be more likely to do would be to meet with us and then try to gather as much information as possible."

     The corners of her mouth quirked slightly upward in wry amusement. "And then, if he determined that we were on to him and his front was now compromised, he'd call in some lackeys and we'd have a fight on our hands, at which point he'd make his getaway attempt then."

     Mismatched eyes flick to Dorian, the wry smile not so much as wavering. "Not so much optimism as caution. If we're mentally set on one particular potential culprit, we might miss the true one, if he's not actually guilty. That doesn't mean he's necessarily innocent...just not guilty of the crime we're considering at the moment."

     Her expression sobered once more, returning to thoughtful. "But regardless, it's too soon to tell. It might very well be someone else pulling the strings, so to speak."

     The pale blonde held up her hands in a cautionary gesture. "What I mean is to hold off on suspicions for the time being. We''ll have our answers soon enough."

     With a slight smile, she politely thanked the secretary before following the others. Not that she would have gone for that particular sort of direct approach, but it was useful enough. And it wasn't as if they had all the time in the world to waste, what with some mad scientist harvesting organs out there.

     Now it was time to see whether those lackeys were about to make an appearance. A pity her new civilian attire of a dress shirt and pencil skirt would likely be ruined once the violence started.
X "I'll keep that in mind." X answers Revan gratefully. he means it. It's totally possible that Walter Stone doesn't know what he's gotten into, exactly. But maybe he does. So he'd better be on guard for trouble. Though, with how open everyone's speaking about a very worrisome topic where maybe anyone could overhear... that's worrisome in and of itself.

    Nevertheless, into the meeting room they all go. X takes a seat, but he's also tuned his sensors up to capture as much data as possible from the encounter. Including full video. Maybe Dr. Cain can offer some advice later, after all! ... Although probably not.

    "I... can't think of a single good thing to say after it's been put like that." He asserts apologetically.
Maya Maya is not in her normal costum but something abit more formal to those native from earth it might look like she crawled out of a post nuclear apoch movie. Though her gear is far too clean for that. She lkooks at Dorian for a moment.

"Or worse the daughter of the man whom has loaned you a relic to access a holy sight which I swore I'd return? Tries to murder you in cold blood over it."

She's glad to see Revan again too notably in a siutation like this.

She hears theya re called in andMaya will put on her best behaviour she really shall be shes'not even brought a weapon along.

"Thank you miss."

With that Maya's heading on in.
Dorian Pavus     Dorian nods to War Witch's statement. "Exactly that," he replies. "Perhaps it's a nobler goal than 'power at all costs', but it's still too high a cost. And may whoever says 'acceptable sacrifice' in this case choke on those words. Even by bare mathematics it doesn't make sense -- they're losing at least one life, and frequently many more than that, for every one they're saving or improving."

    Reinhardt's mention of his suit gets a smirk. "I'll give you his number," he promises. "He's one of the best of these 'modern' tailors I've been to. He's quite good at making stylish clothes comfortable." Hence the suit when he's not sure there isn't going to be fighting. Revan's words of caution over optimism get a nod. "There is also that," he admits. "Though there is some shred of optimism in it; I do find myself hoping he's not responsible." And Maya's words? Get a blink. "Yes, that is... a less than ideal situation."

    As the secretary indicates that the group should go back, he stands, retrieving his staff and bowing politely to her. "Thank you very much," he offers, just as politely as his bow. Athela's not the only one thinking that the secretary might be trained to 'dispose' of 'threats'! And if she's not, the poor woman's just doing her job. He goes with the others into Mr. Stone's office, though he winces at the direct, truth-to-the-face-like-a-brick approach that War Witch takes.

    He speaks up politely, "Do please pardon the abruptness of this all, Mister Stone. But yes, we have evidence that points to the distinct possibility that some of the contributions made in the name of science and medicine have exacted more than their fair share of cost in innocent lives." He is turned towards the door slightly, so while he can see Mr. Stone, he can also see the doors and windows. Like Revan, he's prepared in case there's trouble. Even if he hopes there won't be.
War Witch     Stone arches his eyebrows and gets up from his desk both due to what War Witch says and the words of the others. He nods in acknowledgement to the efforts to reassure him no offense was intended, taking in the many and varied appearances, ranging from civilian garb to super hero outfits, and says, "Really, that's most alarming. However did you come by this information, and why are you telling me about it?"

    War Witch pushes ahead with her 'direct approach' strategy, heedless of the consequences. He seems reasonable enough after all. He might appreciate honesty. She leans forward, gloves hands on the desk, and says, "I thought you might want to know where your money is going. After all, this might reflet badly on you. You might even be charged as an accomplice."

    Mr. Stone is picking up a remote control as he hears this, and says, "I don't think that's very likely. But please, I have something to show you." He presses a button. Was Revan right? Is this the part where he calls in minions and unveils his secret doomsday weapon escape hatch plot device?

    "As you can see, this security camera footage shows some unidentified heroine breaking into my friend Dr. Henderson's office earlier this evening." He presses another button and the view changes to show that same very familiar heroine in a more close-up view meditating on top of a desk. "Ahh, and here's a better angle - the criminal taking a moment to collect herself. And... OH MY GOODNESS, I believe that's you!" Stone says, his tone full of surprise that probably isn't actually there given he had this ready. "How shocking..." He gestures with the remote over his shoulder. "And when the police arrive in a few moments, they'll find the corpse of Dr. Henderson, who's been most gruesomely butchered and burned with some sort of flaming weapon."

    Apex says, "We should leave." Then he hunkers down into a martial arts stance and says, "We should leave and take him with us, IN PIECES if necessary."

    Horus's fists begin to glow green as they become engulfed in energy, but he looks uncertain about all this.

    War With sputters out in disbelief between the shock of being caught red-head breaking and entering, and now THIS... "CORPSE? I never killed him... You're setting us up."

    As Mr. Stone backs up, the window-doors behind him open up and several figures, male and female, in black leather and gray straps, stitched and patchworked together, enter from the balcony outside. "Fortunately, my friends are here to protect me from this brazen group of psychotic thugs who killed Dr. Henderson and then came for me. I even have them on tape threatening to take me away in pieces."

    His reasonable expression dissolves into a wicked sneer as he says, "If you knew what we were really doing here - the progress our research is making in the quest for immortality - you probably wouldn't even fight me on this. But I'm not taking any chances."

    The leather-wrapped figures attack. Blasts of crackling darkness are fired, the guards leap into melee combat, and dodge and weave around ice blasts from War Witch. They're going after everyone. This went south very quickly. But hey, at least Revan was right!
Reinhardt Wilhelm     A lot of things happen, but right now Reinhardt's just /done/ with this. "MURDERER! BUTCHER! I WILL SEE YOU ROT FOR THIS!" He roars, charging straight for Stone before the leather-clad assassins arrive. The others might want to get out of the way to avoid being bowled over by a charging Reinhardt, and the knight's not done yet.

    "And ALL of you who abetted him will get no less severe a judgement, even if I must bring it down upon all of you myself!" His hammer swings at the nearest group of assassins, trying to smash the guards before they can evade his strikes.

    For such a big, lumbering guy, Reinhardt's awfully fast when he gets going, especially when enraged.
X "What?!" War Witch... killed Dr. Henderson? No, that doesn't make sense. But X rises the moment the button's been pressed. X grimaces, glancing left and right... then focuses on where the figures are entering moments before they actually do. The advantage of sharp, mechanical senses, no doubt.

    Yet he doesn't yet arm himself.

    X reacts with lightning speed even as he's blasted with strange abrasive darkness that rips apart chunks of his armorskin, leaping to a wall with a growl! What's weird is that he somehow kinda sorta CLINGS to it with one hand, only to leap up and against the ceiling...

    Then spring back DOWN. He aims to SLAM one of the stitched combatants to the ground with quite a show of force and bind their arms in a hold!

    Quite the considerate hero. "Funny thing about having things on tape... Did you know I've been recording the ENTIRE meeting?" X fiercely glares over at stone, all but pleading for him to just give up peacefully!
Maya Maya does nopt bring up her adventures to their host now isn't the time for that, right? She looks to Mr.Stone as they are brought in and she listens intently her green eyes watching Mr. Stone for any sign of reaction friom him. Maya however sees the video response and sighs this was going to get messy she thinks for a moment. Things have just got bad, they have got bad and Reinhardt is saying eveyrthing she wishes to say as she rises up as things are getting bad. She doesn't take to violent action just yet, and she nods to X.

"It's quite true my companion here is an Android who can record everything he sees and play it back."
Athela Valemore Don't you hate being right sometimes? But as it turns out sometimes paranoia is a good thing. Or at least being ready for it to prove to be true.

The more the worlds change, the more things stay the same, as Athela keeps finding to be true. She's dealt with enough crooked officials to start noticing the signs. Mr. Stone is a little -too- composed for someone that's had a bunch of very not-normal people walk into his office. His defense and 'evidence' is a little too prepared -- Though we definately need to have words with War Witch about some of her methods later -- for it to all be a coincidence. No, everything is adding up unfortunately to the sort of occurance Revan was worried about.

As soon as Stone says 'friends' a gauntlet goes for the hilt of her sword. Her Divine Insight takes over and reflexively Athela draws Resolute Blade in a perfect arc to deflect several of the blasts fired at her.

"No fake immortality shall save you from Justice's prevailing tides," she hisses between clenched teeth. These mad men were proving to be more and more like the Hollowed, and the less and less she wes liking it.

Water swirls briefly around the sword's blade, and when Athela swings it again the elemental energy slings off of it in a way that the stream of water acts very much like a whip would as she aims it to strike back several of the guards.

Sprite jumps down from her shoulder, but instead of getting into the fighting, the tiny pokemon darts through the erupting melee. A little ball of fuzz lost in the fracas, the Eevee winds around legs and flailing attacks towards Mr. Stone's desk. Who's going to pay attention to some little critter when they have a good half-dozen angry Heroes to worry about? Hopefully.
Dorian Pavus     The tone of Stone's voice changes, and Dorian... probably does not have the 'oh no' reaction Stone is expecting. No, he just rolls his eyes. "''Venhedis kaffan vas''..." he sighs dramatically. Yes, it seems that Revan WAS right. Dorian looks in her direction, noting dryly, "So much for optimism, yes?" He's not mocking her, no. Just pointing out the situation. Things have indeed gone south very quickly. To the room at large he notes, with false brightness, "Well, now at least everyone knows that whenever someone's associated with this... group, they're aloways going to be complicit. Good to know."

    Dorian's concern is keeping enemies from escaping. He casts an orb of lightning into the air and then seems to 'break' the 'cord' of lightning attached to his hand. As he does, there is a flash of a circle on the ground, aimed at Stone and as many of his lackeys as Dorian can corner. He's using that Lightning Cage again -- as long as the lackeys stay int he circle they should be fine, but the moment they step over it, they'll get consistent shocks! Not only should that keep out any more of these guys from getting in, it'll keep Stone from getting out. For a while, at least.

    Unfortunately this means he can't concentrate on defense as much as he'd like... so he gets one of those darkness blasts right to the chest. Fortunately he's not a typical 'squishy mage'. The blast makes him stagger, but he soon steadies himself. But that's not the end of it, it seems. Dorian shivers, then blinks several times, as if clearing his eyes. It's suddenly hard to see. There may be some outside effect that makes this issue visible, but... well, he can't see it!

    It's also fortunate for Dorian that he has plenty of 'affect/explode an area' abilities rather than 'affect/explode a target'. It is, however, prudent to warn his allies. "Be careful!" he calls out. "Whatever they're using is blinding!"
Revan Lowri's otherwise wry smile was tinged with a slight bit of regret. "As do I," she admitted to Dorian. Unfortunately, her more cynical suspicions were proven to be right. Too much time spent dealing with Sith Lords...and being one. Then again, she was fairly certain she would have been at least a little more creative when she had been a well-intentioned extremist.

     "Ugh...dammit," she muttered as she wrinkled her nose in disgust, already pulling her trusty hidden lightsabers from beneath the hem of the loose sweater as mismatched eyes flick to Dorian. No offence taken, it seemed. "I /really/ hate being right sometimes."

     The Jedi Knight pointed a glowing tip at the mad doctor even as his summoned minions attack. "I am /so/ sending him the bill for my clothes. These weren't exactly cheap," she quipped, possibly in an effort to obfuscate her disgust.

     Even as she moved into an en garde stance, Revan did not attack immediately...at least, not directly. Instead, she reached out through the Force, lifting a chair telekinetically and hurling it at the nearest leather-clad Eidelon. But she couldn't resist going all 'wise Master' on Stone. "You're doing this 'immortality' thing wrong," she chastised, her mien deathly serious. "There's no point to gaining immortality at the cost of one's soul."
War Witch     Reinhardt's hammer slams into one of the Eidolons, but the others nearby dodge out of the way with speed and agility beyond human. Almost predictive in their fast responses. There is a heavy impact with the one that was not so fast, and the sound of great exertion and possibly breath leaving lungs, but the Eidolon wraps its arms around the weapon to brace itself, skids along the floor so hard it leaves friction-induced skid-marks on the marble... And comes to a stop. It seems to have an aura of darkness slithering around its body that may have absorbed some of the impact somehow. Even so, it definitely took damage. The male figure is a pretty tough and strong enemy though. Further, an aura of darkness manifests the Eidolon's fist as it lets go of the hammer and charges forth to try to slam a negative-energy-infused blow into the armored hero!

    As X comes plunging down from the ceiling, slamming one of the Eidolons to the floor thanks to how unexpected the attack was. And, for his trouble, the Luminous Eidolon pinned to the floor responds by hnleashing a blast of electrons in a wave of radioactive force upwards at the android. So they aren't limited to just darkness and crazy reflexes but also have radiation-powers!?

    Athela's water whip is dodged by two of the Eidolons but snaps another in the face, tearing into its mask that seems not to even have eye holes. The Eidolon retaliates by blasting a pair of x-ray lasers from his covered eyes at her, potentially piercing through and lowering defenses that aren't properly shielded in the process. Little attention is paid to the Eevee, but Stone hearing from Maya and X that his own words have been recorded, and seeing the fight the heroes have put up has him backing up onto the balcony more and more.

    The same Eidolon who dodged War Witch's ice beam leaps right over a slash of her fire sword as she cries out, "IIIIIIAAH!" fiercely. The sweep of blade leaves an arc of red that casts new definition into the light and shadows of the office.

    One of the Eidolons charges Apex, who blocks a high-speed blow with his forearm. "You're a quick one." he remarks, but the Eidolon has black tentacles or something swarming out of his hands and when Apex slams a knee into the enemy, it palms seem to 'bite' into his leg. "OWWW! What... ARE... These... THINGS!" he yells as it clings to his leg to keep tearing his flesh with energy tendrils.
War Witch     Horus dodges aside in mid-air as a darkness beam barely avoids clipping his head, and lands a luminous punch to the Eidolon's head. "I dunno - but they're tougher than normal humans..."

    Though Dorian successfully cages the two who dodged Athela's water whip, they retaliate by staying right inside the cage and shooting blasts of ravenous darkness at him. One of them makes an upwards gesture with her hand, and black tentacles streak up out of a pit of ebon mist that begins to form at Dorian's feet, trying to latch onto him and hold him in place while gradually siphoning away his strength.

    War Witch gets the same treatment, keeping her from retaliating against her own attacker by being restrained. Revan manages to clock one of the Eidolons attacking Dorian with a chair, taking her out by slamming her into the lightning cage she so cleverly avoided getting shocked by via remaining still, and preventing any more tendrils from being made by that one.

    Stone sees the way the fight is going, as Horus energy-punches his opponent across the office and into a bookshelf, and then War Witch hits her attacker with an ice beam that freezes the Mire Eidolon to a wall.

    Soon enough, everyone will have taken down their opponents.

    And that means it's time for Stone to leave.

    Apex grabs his foe in a headlock and squeezes until the Eidolon passes out, though his body is wounded from tentacular bites. "There, there, you just take a nice long nap." he grits out.

    Horus looks to the Eidolon frozen to the floor, and says, "That should keep them on--"

    But War Witch interrupts him. "Don't say it." as she freezes the other Eidolons in place as well to prevent them from escaping. "No ICE jokes. Or FIRE jokes for that matter."

    Apex points towards the balcony as Walter Stone leaps over the railing, and calls out, "Guys, look! Stone's getting away!"

    By the time they get to the balcony, with perhaps only Athela's Eevee ahead of them in time to see what happened, it's a bit late. War Witch says, stunned, "He just jumped right over the edge..."

    Apex says, "That's gotta' be 50 STORIES! And look..." The businessman is running down the sidewalk far below. "He survived! He's up and running! At least I think that's him..."

    War Witch scowls and says, "It's him."
X "GAAAAAAH!" A blast of pure ZAAAAAP slams into X, throwing him back and against a wall. The wall, well. The wall's seen better days. CRUNCH.

    "Hggggghhhrrghk..." Sparking and disoriented, X is out of the picture for a previous ten seconds while his systems recalibrate. By the time he's gotten back into action though... the others have handily dealt with these 'Eidolons.'

    Ugh, he wasn't much help here, was he?

    Though the blue robot grimaces and yells fiercely, "WHAT?! He jumped from HERE?! ... He must have planned this the whole time... I can only guess we'll encounter more interference down there wherever he's running TO! But chasing's our only choice..."
Dorian Pavus     Snark engine engaged! Dorian remarks to Revan's speech to Stone, "And whyEVER not? Mr. Stone is clearly not using his soul. So why not give it away in exchange for eternal life?" This in response to the mention of immortality at the cost of one's soul. He also has the snark engine at maximum on the remark! Then to Stone, he notes, still heavy on the snark, "You really need to work on your 'villainous countenance'. I am SO horribly disappointed in you, Stone... you haven't cackled evilly, not even once."

    Sure, maybe a hero shouldn't really have said that. But being thought of as an 'evil Vint' just waiting for the appropriate moment to twirl his mustache and cackle does tend to give one that attitude after a while. Besides that, he's not exactly a hero, even if he's kinda registered as one here.

    Dorian casts a barrier to the darkness blasts coming his way, and its the strength of the barrier that is affected rather than hitting him again. But the upward gesture of the other Eidolon heralds him being held in place by chilling, shadowy tendrils! Tendrils that are, apparently, siphoning his energy. "''Kaffas''!" he curses, and aims a gout of flame across the room at the tendril-summoning Eidolon. Unfortunately, due to the effects of the blast he took, he misses! But Revan's chair does the job nicely enough.

    He stumbles as the tendrils release him. And then looking to Lowri, nods. "Thank you. That was unpleasant," he asserts.

    And then he looks for Stone... just in time to see him JUMP OFF THE BALCONY! "...Of course." He sighs. Well, he can't manage that, so... he looks at Reinhardt. "How about a lift? I'd rather not end up a greasy spot on the ground outside. I'm not too heavy, I promise." A smirk.
Athela Valemore Athela Valemore spares a brief sidelong glance to see her Eevee making off through the crowd. Which is exactly when she gets hit by the eyebeams. "Gaah!" Good old fashion armor doesn't really do much against x-rays and the knight staggers back a couple of steps before grinding her feet back into the floor of the office to brace herself and restablize. That stung just as badly as getting hit by a Thunderbolt!

Stone is making a run for it. That much she expected, and that's why she let her faster pokemon take the lead in that regard. Unfortunately the man(?) JUMPS the railing straight to the street below instead of taking the actual fire escape, Sprite skidding to as top before she topples after him. Pokemon may be tougher than average creatures, but there's no way she can make that kind of fall. Sprite scurries to the end of the balcony and yaps loudly, if only to let others know which direction he ran off in. But as Athela points out on the radio, she knows the man's scent now.

Back to said knight. Okay, the eye beams stung, that's definatelly true. And in all honesty she can't tell if these things are still living beings or not. On the other hand, does it matter? They've put their lot in with madness, and where she comes from, that's as good as surrendering your soul.

"Your master escapes for now." As he brow sets into a scowl Athela grips Resolute Blade with both her hands, the sword starting to glow with the divine power embraced within it. "But for you, the will of the gods clense this world of your corrupt being...."

As the glow reaches its brightest Athela lunges forward and swings, aiming to strike down as many of the remaining goons as she can reach in one sweeping blow, bellowing like it was a divine warcry. "SACRED SWORD!"
Maya Maya says "There was a man seeking immortality once upon my world he succeed yet? He twisted the natural laws to the point the Fates forsook him and death himself became his enemy. His name was Draxx."

Maya gets a bit of an odd look on her face.

"I think it's time you met Thanatos. If you have such issue with death? Perhaps it's best to take it up with death it self."

Maya pulls a pair of fate cards out.

"Death, Thanatos is the one thing that the Creator did not make for he was there even before creation took root.

Blue fire leeches form her body into both of the cards one glows pink the other glows bright green. Maya seems to fade from view as she does this one might sense she is there but another force could be sensed most notably something else is coming something old, something that is death yet? There is no malevolence directed from it to the living. It simply is part of Maya's world. That's when the what seems to be a skeletal hands pulls it self out of the floor followed by a skeletal form holding a sickle and clad in a black cloak, it pulls back the hood looking at that which is before it and just lets out an inhuman shriek and focusing it's anger towards that which would cause such abominations to walk the world. Thanatos, the fate of Death of Maya's world has stepped in at least in a small fragment of it's power and it's not a happy camper. For a moment? It takes off /after/ Stone but Maya can not maintain him here for long.
Reinhardt Wilhelm     Reinhardt roars in fury, in spite of tanking many blows to his armor. He lunges forth to his opponent, negative energy be damned, and aims to cold-cock the Eidolon. A punch from a guy like Reinhardt is guaranteed to be a painful blow, especially with the force he hits with.

    Hammer or no, nobody can tank punches from him and still stand. Of course, as he retrieves his hammer, Reinhardt delivers a follow-up blow, despite his armor growing blackened and scorched by the Eidolon's very nature.

    After that, he simply claps X on the shoulder. "ONWARD, if you waste your breath like that, you won't go anywhere in life!" He barks harshly. Yeah, Reiny's pissed, and determined to bring this madman to justice, and he goes to do just that as he leaps over the balcony, but before that, he's quick to pick up DOrian like a princess. "Hold on to me, this might get a bit rough." He warns the mage, before taking a dive.

    His armor can take the fall, it's fine. Might be a nasty shock to Dorian, however.
Revan The particular flavour of snark engine might have been different, but Revan's response was apparently tailored towards someone with an almost equal amout of acerbic wit. "It could have been on a trial basis. You know, 'live forever, no worries about becoming a tortured spirit filled with endless regrets bound to your tomb should the physical form perish...that sort of thing."

     That was oddly specific, as if she had dealt with this sort of thing before.

     "In any case, no one else is buying that. Killing victims to prolong other lives is something I think we all can agree is Very Bad and needs an end to it," the Guardian quipped with equal parts levity and seriousness as the Eidolons were effectively dealt with.

     Had Stone been a Jedi or a superhero, his impressive leap down fifty floors would not have earned so much as a batted eye from Lowri...but he was certainly not either. "At least we have that necessary proof now," she murmured before nodding at the Tevinter mage. "You're welcome," she replied simply. Apparently, she didn't feel a quip was appropriate at the moment, frowning as she quickly assessed how to go after Stone. She could probably manage a direct fall, but knocking herself out in the process wasn't terribly useful. Instead, the former Sith Lord followed with a leap of her own, but used the shapes of the nearby buildings to land and leap off of in rapid succession with natural physical prowess augmented through the Force, taking the fastest way down possible.
War Witch     Apex says, "He's gone. Let's search his office for more clues."

    War Witch turns and says, "Yeah, maybe we can question those goons..." But then people propose the idea of actually giving chase, and some people just... Leap right over the railing like Stone did. Sometimes it's rough being the heroes without any travel powers. Thankfully, they have allies here who can carry others down. So, when X offers, War Witch turns to him, shrugs, and gets ready to ride the android express down to street level.

    Apex says, "So... Is X going to carry me too or...?"

    Horus grabs Apex by the back of his costume and yells out, "Hold on!" as he flies at full speed directly towards the ground.

    "AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" Apex yells, until Horus pulls up at the last second and deposits the burly martial artist on the sidewalk.

    Already-surprised civilians look on in shock as even in a City of Heroes, a bunch of people dropping down from above right in front of them in pursuit of a businessman seems to be unusual enough to leave them at a loss for words.

    Apex yells out, "Give me some warning next time!" as he tries to get over the near-death experience.

    Horus hovers in the air and says, "Next time. Now, LET'S GET HIM."
Athela Valemore It's clearly the quickest way to get down to street level while her master is busy making sure they're not harassed farther. The Eevee doesn't object to X picking her up, and she's not very heavy, either.

Athela doesn't revel in the sort of fighting her role often brings her to, but it is a necessity that she accepts as part of her duties as a knight. She has little trouble with being the one covering the rear so her allies can keep the chase fresh on Stone's heels. These were tougher than the general mooks they'd fought in hordes before, but she's going to be the last one standing, abiet her share of roughed up.

As soon as the first reploid is on the ground Sprite hops out of his grasp. Nose to the pavement to pick back up on Stone's scent and then she's off, putting that Tracker ability to good use.

Once the last of the goons are down for the count, Athela resheaths her sword and strides out to the balcony. By this point everyone else is down and well on their way. She shrugs a bit to roll a shoulder, then grabs the balcony rail and vaults over it herself. She asked X to take her Eevee not because she couldn't, but because she wanted to ensure Sprite could stay on the man's trail while it was fresh. It's going to take her a bit to catch up.

As she drops over Athela uses her water manipulation to fire a stream of water below her. The pressure of the stream acts like a buffer to slow her fall, allowing her to ride it down to the pavement. Then take off after the rest of the group to catch up.
Dorian Pavus     Lowri's words get a smirk. "There are many definitions of 'living forever'," he notes. "Some more unpleasant than others." And right about then, Reinhardt answers Dorian's question... by picking him up. PRINCESS style, no less!

    ...Well, THIS isn't quite what Dorian expected! The princess carry gets a look of surprise... and of embarrassment. He starts to sputter, "What--" But there's no time to say more, because Reinhardt's jumping off the balcony then, and Dorian really has no choice but to hang on! It ends up looking a bit awkward, though, since... well, in a princess carry there's really no way for the carried to hang on except around the neck of the carrier! Not that Dorian really minds that little fact, of course, but that's neither here nor there.

    ...Ahem. ANYWAY!

    The jolt is pretty uncomfortable, but Dorian isn't going to complain. Beats going splat. Still, embarrassing! So when they reach the ground, Dorian may or may not be blushing slightly. He's going to let go of Reinhardt quickly, though-- no time for dallying! "Thank you," he says, with a nod. He has a way to move fast once his feet are on the ground again.

    Dorian calls the currents of the Fade around him, and a blue glow wraps around him like icy blue ribbons. Then he runs with the others in pursuit of the businessman, seeming to almost skim over the ground. Fade Step is only designed for short bursts, but he can sustain it if needed. Just not too long, or he risks overburn. And overburn is dangerous; the last thing he needs is to deal with demons NOW...
Maya Maya does what she can to keep the summon out for long and while she has the powewr there's a good deal of stian but Stone has actual Death on his heels and knows Maya will be looking for them. Maya has to tax her self a bit more by enchanting a flight spell but it's not so bad but this has her have to stop keeping Thanatos in the world for now, but she'll be back with him for later.
X When X says offer a ride down, he mostly means 'hang on to me REALLY hard on this one side.' He guides War Witch to his left side while the Eevee... well, probably clings onto her, all things considered!

    "Alright... hold on as HARD as you can. Don't worry about hurting me!"

    One arm, that's all he can spare to wrap around War Witch and hold her against him as he does something LUDICROUS.... and just leaps out the window. But his OTHEr hand morphs into the buster while the wind passes... and he raises it skyward at an angle, where the shots won't hit anything, but...

    As they're near the bottom of their descent he fires a few quick shots, which propel him back against the wall!

    The impact's pretty jarring, but he somehow manages to SLIDE down the last few hundred feet, softening the final impact.

    He might have been able to handle a solid impact at those speeds with only minor damage to some joints, but...

    He's not so sure War Witch and the Eevee can take such G-Forces without serious injury.

    This is why he only went with ONE passenger. No way he could pull THAT manuever off with two or more!

    "Sorry if that was rough! Let's catch that madman... and put a stop to this!"